


Turning Point: A PAKet Dimension side story

by CephalonGhost



Series: PAKet: Main Comic and Side Stories [2]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Depression, Drama, Enemies to Friends, M/M, Other, Post-Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:42:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22174996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CephalonGhost/pseuds/CephalonGhost
Summary: A more in-depth look at the flashback sequences that occur in chapter 4(which at the point of posting have only been posted on tumblr and not here yet)
Relationships: Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Series: PAKet: Main Comic and Side Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1527593
Comments: 36
Kudos: 275





	1. He Just Lives Here Now I Guess

**Author's Note:**

> Here's one of those side stories I promised about the past events of PAKet that happened before where the comic starts off!

ZiM wasn’t trying to take over Earth anymore.

He wasn’t doing much of ANYTHING anymore, really.

Not since the day Dib literally dragged him all the way across town along the broken segments of pavement and sidewalk to his very own house.

Here the former—or never-was—Invader had stayed for a week now. Only moving when Dib, who had securely handcuffed the two of them together the day he’d brought him home, physically forced him to.

The rest of the time he was unresponsive.

He hadn’t even reacted when Dib and his father were arguing over his existence as an alien—the Professor Somehow still insistent that he was hallucinating in some form after everything that had happened—while his head was being pressed into the dining table.

If it wasn’t for the occasional groaning and tearless pitiful whines, Dib would say it was almost as if—

No.

No he wasn’t going to think that.

He couldn’t allow that kind of thoughts into his head.

Those kinds of thoughts only made him remember everything that had happened after Moo-Ping 10, everything that he’d _said_ , and he really didn’t want to think about any of it right now.

Dib lightly slapped himself in the face to snap him back to the present before shifting his gaze to the Irken currently lying on his bed.

ZiM was staring up at the ceiling, or at nothing, not even acknowledging his presence. Something Dib had gotten uncomfortably used to in the last few days after the still lingering distrust finally faded.

The hope of all this just being another sad schmoopy act part of some other dumb plot had long since gone now.

It had been gone _long_ before he had even come to the decision to bring ZiM home with him.

After he…

After...

“How long are you going to be like this?” Dib asked, but knew the question was pointless. All he got in response was a sad and despair filled whine that made him wince. “Come on, man! Seriously!” He begged, voice cracking just a little.

Oh Hades, he felt like crying.

And he hadn’t cried since—

Wait, no…

He’d actually cried last week too after—

“Hey!”

His head immediately turned and brought him face to face with a clearly irritated Gaz. Her anger oddly enough being just what he needed to regain his composure and previous resolve.

… After a pitiful yelp of surprise escaped him first.

“Ack—Gaz!?”

“You idiots stink.” She practically growled while scrunching her nose and deepening her scowl.

“... Huh?” Dib immediately raised an arm to sniff himself.

Truth of the matter was that it _had_ been awhile since he’d last taken a bath. He hadn’t had one in the entire time he’d been keeping ZiM cuffed to his wrist.

For safety reasons.

Obviously.

No other reason.

_No other reason at all._

“What are you…” Before he could finish his own question, Dib suddenly remembered something.

There _had_ been a weird smell the first time he’d stumbled across ZiM being all schmoopy.

Had he become nose-blind to it like he had his own stench when he was slowly turning into a chair?

Before he even realized what he was doing, Dib had bent down and started sniffing the Irken. His nose detecting just a faint hint of… _something_ that seemed to be secreting from the base of ZiM’s antennae. But he could only pick it up after he’d gotten close enough so that the thin hairs coating them tickled the underside of his nose and made him sneeze.

And still ZiM, the _germaphobe_ , didn’t even react to **_that_ **.

The only reaction was the involuntary twitching of his antennae as they lightly slapped Dib in the face.

“You better take a bath before dinner or else.” Gaz said with a roll of her eyes. Her tone still clearly annoyed but with less malice than usual. She didn't even make a comment about the way her brother sniffed the sad sac of an alien. “ _Both_ of you. Dad says so.”

“What?” Dib blinked in confusion. “What do you mean ‘dad says so’?!”

But she had already turned and left, leaving Dib to sit there groaning on his bed.

Great.

Just great.

Why did his dad suddenly have to care about his hygiene _now?_

And not only did _he_ have to take a bath, he had to make _ZiM_ take one too.

Perfect.

This was just _perfect_.

Would he even be able to get ZiM anywhere near their bathroom in this state?

How was he even supposed to—

Wait…

“Hey, ZiM,” he lightly poked at the Irken’s cheek. “You heard Gaz, right?”

“Eeeugh?” ZiM gave the smallest of head tilts in acknowledgement. Though Dib wasn’t wholly sure without his contacts in if he was actually looking at him or not.

Now that he thought about it, this was actually the first time he’d ever really gotten a good enough look at ZiM’s uncovered eyes to examine them. The thought of reaching out and plucking one right out of the socket for an _even closer look_ crossed his mind, but he immediately shook the thought out of his head.

He wasn’t going to do that.

Not after what he’d promised.

No matter how much he wanted to...

… Maybe he’d wait for when ZiM was actually more like his usual self again to ask if he could examine them with permission.

“She said that dad wants us to take a bath.” Dib took a pause before continuing, allowing the words to sink in first. “ _Both_ of us. With _water_.”

Dib scanned ZiM’s face for a reaction, any kind of reaction, to the mention of water. 

And react ZiM did.

Just not in the way Dib was expecting.

“Fiiiiine.” ZiM sat up with a groan, momentarily throwing Dib off balance from the tug of the cuffs linking them together.

“Wait, really?! You’re not even worried about the water burning you?” Dib pursed his lips. “I mean, dad did install all these new filters that the city’s water supply is run through to get rid of all pollutants anyway. So it shouldn’t— **_What are you doing?!_ **“

In the midst of his rambling, ZiM had started reaching backwards to _detach his PAK_.

Only now he stopped.

But whether it was because of Dib’s shrill cry or from him suddenly putting all his weight onto the device to keep it attached was uncertain. 

What _was_ certain was that ZiM now lolled his head back enough to look at him in just barely present confusion.

“You humans… Baaaathe, naked, don’t you?” He slowly blinked, lids closing and opening out of sync.

“Uh, well… Yeah, we do…” Dib bit his lip as he confirmed the not-question. Not taking his uncuffed hand off ZiM’s PAK.

“Well I gotta take my PAK off to get… This…” He tugged at the tunic of his Invader uniform and stared at it silently. Then with a half choked whine, he fell onto his side and curled up on himself. His whining only getting louder.

“ZiM--Hey, you don’t gotta take anything off, alright?!” Dib tried to pull him back up into a sitting position only to end up with ZiM lying on top of him instead.

Things just keep getting better and better, don’t they?

“Okay, new plan.” Dib started moreso to himself than to the schmoopy Irken that now had his face buried against his neck.

He could have easily pushed him off, but what was the point?

“We sneak downstairs to my dad’s basement lab to use the decontamination chamber and just _say_ we took a bath.”

————————

Dinner went as well as was to be expected with ZiM in his current state.

About halfway through the dinner his head had ended up in his plate. Mashed potatoes coating the whole side of his face and one of his antenna. A mess which, of course, Dib had to clean off of him with a wet cloth.

He was starting to wonder if this was what working in a nursing home was like.

While he was finishing up making ZiM less of a potatoey mess, the Professor then chose to make a comment about his “little foreign friend’s” condition and he snapped back in retort at the suggestion of calling his “parents”.

“He doesn’t have--they’re robots!” Dib argued while slamming the cloth down onto the table.

“Now son, that’s a rude thing to call someone just because they happen to work for a corporate entity.” Membrane tsked and skillfully ate what Foodio had made them that night while keeping his face concealed as always. “Not all families are as privileged as we are.”

“No! Dad--they’re literally just robots!” Dib threw up his arms in exasperation, briefly forgetting how he and ZiM were handcuffed and slapping himself in the face with the Irken’s limp hand.

Once again, however, any attempt at convincing his father of ZiM’s alien nature fell on deaf ears.

Or at least, that’s how it currently appeared.

Membrane just continued to shake his head and let out a sigh as though disappointed.

“I understand you’re concerned about what your friend attempted. But are those _really_ necessary?”

Dib didn’t even need to see the slight narrowing of eyes from behind his dad’s signature goggles to know where he was looking.

“It’s just in case!” He shoved their linked hands under the table.

“It’s just more than a tad excessive a measurement while looking after your friend is all.” His head turned slightly to look at Gaz who was eating with one hand and expertly controlling the character on the screen of her Game Slave 5 with the other. “Don’t you agree, daughter?”

Gaz’s rapidly moving fingers suddenly stopped as she met their father’s gaze. One eye opening more just slightly to look between him and Dib.

“Actually, dad…” She seemed oddly hesitant. “I have to side with Dib on this one.”

Hearing this, Dib looked at her with wide sparkling eyes.

“Gaz--”

“Don’t get used to it.” Her usual sour mood returned. “Just because I think you're right this _one_ _time_ doesn’t mean I’m always going to agree with any dumb idea you have.”

Membrane could only sigh again.

“Children…” He pinched his brow lightly. “I understand you’re concerned but--”

“If I don’t keep him like this he’s going to do something stupid again!” Dib shouted, slamming both his hands on the table and making the plates and silverware rattle. 

“Son, no shouting at the dinner table.” Membrane said sternly while trying to keep his voice level.

“How else will you listen to me?!” Dib continued to yell despite his dad's order. “I have to deal with looking after him on my own because you refuse to believe me and think we should just take him to some human doctor! If I do that, _they’ll_ at least realize he’s an alien and will probably take him away!”

“I know you’re worried about the possibility of not seeing your friend for awhile." The Professor sighed. "But a medical professional really should--”

“ _You’re_ a medical professional, dad! You’re a professional _everything!_ ” Dib pointed accusingly at his father who seemed actually taken aback by the gesture. “When Gaz was the one sick with ‘Pigmouth’ you put aside _everything_ to try and cure her! Why can’t you do the same now to help me figure out what’s wrong with _ZiM?!_ ”

A heavy silence fell at the dinner table as Dib stared down his father. Even Gaz had paused her game to see how he would react to her brother’s words.

But Membrane stayed uncomfortably silent.

It felt like a whole minute before he finally spoke in an emotionless tone.

“... Go to your room, son.” He said.

“... _Fine…_ ”

————————

Later that night—after ZiM and Dib’s rather awkward bedtime prep routine—the Professor entered Dib’s room while they slept.

He seemed slightly perplexed as he approached where ZiM and Dib lay huddled together beneath the blankets. Their sleep positions betraying just how much their relationship had shifted in just a short time.

He pulled back the blankets without so much as causing either boy to stir. Then just as stealthily, he undid the cuffs that bound them both together.

“Poor little thing.” Membrane spoke aloud to no one but himself. The chance of either boy waking seeming to be of no concern.

And why _would_ it be?

Dib was possibly a heavier sleeper than _he_ was.

With seemingly uncharacteristic gentleness, Membrane lifted ZiM up into his arms.

“We’ll cure you of whatever's ailing you yet.”


	2. Diagnosis

Dib awoke less than an hour later to the feeling of something being amiss.

At first, with his sleep fogged mind, he couldn’t exactly tell what.

Something was just…

 _Off_.

It was only upon rolling over and noticing the lack of a second body lying next to him that it hit him.

ZiM was gone.

_ZiM was GONE._

He sat up with a start as his wide eyes darted around wildly. His gaze soon finding the half undone handcuffs. While still securely locked around _his_ wrist, the half that had been on a certain Irken was undone and empty.

“ZiM?!” He called out as he jumped up onto his bed and immediately went to the window. Checking the lock to make sure it hadn’t been tampered with. Absolutely no indication that ZiM had used it to get out.

That was when he noticed his open bedroom door.

He _never_ left his door open when he slept.

This wasn’t looking good...

Dib dashed out of his room and down the stairs to the living room. He skidded on the carpet as he brought himself to a halt as he eyed the front door.

Still locked.

No signs that it had been opened.

But how could he be _sure_?

Throwing open the front door, he ran out of the house and into the street barefoot. Calling out to ZiM as he spun in place, hoping to catch some sort of glimpse of the alien nearby.

But there weren’t any.

The only movement came from neighbors' turning on their lights and opening their windows on stare or yell at the “crazy neighbor boy” making a scene out in the road in the dead of night.

What was he supposed to do?!

_What was he supposed to--_

“Son, get back inside before you catch a cold!”

Dib stopped suddenly as he turned his head back towards his house. His dad, still fully dressed and ready for lab work, stood in the doorway with brows furrowed in concern.

“ZiM left!” He blurted immediately, feeling tears start to well up in his eyes as his mind began playing out all the different possible scenarios that may be happening to the Irken now in his state.

There were just so many things that could go wrong.

Thoughts about how this could have been a part of his grand plan didn’t come to him at all.

“What if someone else found him and turned him over to the government?! What if he’s been hit by a car and his PAK got knocked off?!” He started pulling at his hair as the possibilities continued to fill his head. “What if he's wandered off into the woods and gotten mauled by some sort of--

“Dib, my boy-child, your little green friend is _fine_." Membrane cut the boy off to reassure him. "He’s downstairs in my lab.”

“... Wat…?” Dib’s face became suddenly stolid as he stared at his father with disbelief.

“He’s perfectly safe, son.” Membrane reaffirmed. “I was just about to--”

Before he could finish, Dib was already running back into the house. Pushing past Membrane and making a beeline for the stairs that lead down into his basement lab. 

A look of pure panic and determination was worn upon his face.

It was only once he entered the lab and saw ZiM, just calmly sitting on one of his dad’s work tables, did he let out a sigh of relief and allow his tense shoulders to relax.

ZiM was okay.

His dad hadn’t done any--

Wait a minute…

“What happened to your _clothes_ , ZiM?!” Dib ran over and gripped at the edge of the table ZiM sat on. He was only just tall enough to rest his chin on the edge to look up at the ex-Invader.

“Eh?” ZiM’s head turned to him slightly in reply before shifting as he looked down at himself. 

Rather than his standard uniform, he had on what looked almost like a hospital patient gown that was fitted to his size. Though, considering Dib’s past with his father, more than likely it was due to the fact it had been made specially for _him_ when undergoing his father’s experiments. Willingly or not.

“I dunnknow…”

Dib just pushed himself away from the table and shook his head.

“How did my dad even--”

“I used a scalpel.”

Dib quickly spun around to see his father standing just behind him.

“I didn’t see any way of fully undressing your friend without removing that device attached to his spine. “ Membrane continued as he stepped past his son and opened up a small compartment in the examination table that ZiM sat on. Inside lay the uniform tunic and shirt that had been cut completely down the lengths of the back. “And since I don’t fully understand just what it does yet, I didn’t want to risk the possibility of a security fail-safe activating at its removal.”

Membrane quickly shut the drawer as his son began reaching for the uniform within. 

“He also didn't give any protest when I originally proposed cutting up the little pink dress he seems to favor so much.”

“Why would you even _need_ to undress him to begin with?!” Dib raised his hands as he shouted, physically and verbally demanding an answer from his father.

“How else am I meant to properly examine him?” Came the Professor’s reply, as though it should have been obvious.

“‘ _Examine him_ ’?” Dib repeated, most of the anger and confusion from his face fading.

“It’s just as you said at dinner,” Membrane began, walking off to gather a variety of items. Some of which Dib didn’t know the exact purpose of while others looked to be the kinds of tools doctors regularly used during checkups. “I _am_ a medical professional. And there is clearly something wrong with your little alien friend. It isn’t like me at all to ignore it and not attempt to come up with the solution to such a problem myself!”

“And you couldn’t have waited till morning to do this?!” While the Professor gave a response about too much time having been passed already, Dib’s eyes were busy going wide as something in his head clicked. “Alien…”

Membrane seemed to freeze briefly before continuing in his gathering of materials.

“Dad, you just called ZiM an ‘ _alien’_!”

“'Alien' is simply another term to describe someone of foreign ethnicity, son.”

“Yeah, and you also always told me using it was _racist_!” Dib snapped. “You don’t believe anything involved with the Florpus was a hallucination after all, do you, dad?!”

Membrane said nothing. He just lowered his head slightly as he gripped the edge of the table where he had been lining up everything he would need in the order he would use them.

“ _Do you?!_ ”

“... I never believed it was a hallucination.” He sighed.

“You never…” Dib felt rage suddenly boil up inside him. “You knew all of that was actually happening the entire time but continued to act like none of it happened?!”

“How could I?!” Membrane countered as he finally turned around. His usual proud and level headed demeanor cracking as the panic Dib had only ever seen him wear whenever Santa was brought up began seeping through. “All of it went against everything that I had previously believed in! I had hardly any time at all to process all I had experienced before you and your sister were also tossed into that cell where I was being kept in with those... Those _extraterrestrial_ entities!”

Membrane was digging his metal hands into his hair now with more force than was necessary. If it weren’t for the fact Dib knew of the metal plate his father had gotten installed the day after things began settling down (to prevent him from having any more "hallucinations" caused by head trauma, he said) he would have been worried about his dad crushing his own skull.

But almost as quickly as he had started squeezing, he stopped and regained his composure.

Almost like some kine of mental switch was flipped.

“Behaving as though, in reality, everything was perfectly normal was all I could do for my own benefit _and_ for you kids at the time." He spoke calmly and in a much lower voice than he had been using previously. "It is often the only thing one _can_ do when a major change happens that they cannot accept to keep going in life. Though it should _never_ be used as a permanent solution. It isn't mentally healthy, after all.”

Dib had originally been prepared to argue when his father said his acting like it was all a hallucination had not just been for himself, but _his_ benefit too…

But he didn’t.

What his dad had said after that made him recall something ZiM’s computer had said when he asked if it knew why ZiM was acting the way he was now.

_"I don't know. He's probably just not able to pretend like everything’s fine and normal like before?”_

Did that mean… ZiM had already known the things he’d known before that day?

“So that’s what’s going on…” Dib quietly murmured out loud.

“I’m sorry I lied to you son, I really am.” Membrane apologized, believing Dib’s comment was in response to him. “I had hoped to feign my ignorance for a bit longer before I spoke to you about it, but…”

The Professor only sighed again as his attention turned back to ZiM.

ZiM, who was still sitting there and paying no attention at all to what was happening in the room around him.

A sudden fear hit Dib then.

“You aren’t going to--”

“I’m not going to harm him, son. I promise.” Membrane assured before his son could finish his question. “Nor will I turn him over to the government for further studying. Anything I learn about your little alien friend will remain a secret to Membrane labs only.”

Dib let out a breath he didn’t know he'd been holding.

“... Thanks, dad.” He said with a small smile.

“Though there _are_ some horrible tests and experiments I'll have to do to find out what's currently ailing him.”

Aaaaaand there went the smile.

“Your sister had to endure quite a lot of them when she had contracted that strange case of Pig-Mouth.” Membrane adjusted his gloves as he picked up a tongue depressor and elongated cotton swab. “I still don’t understand what brought about her sudden recovery. By all accounts it's just not scientifically possible for all traces of a disease to vanish over night.”

“That's cause it _wasn't_ a disease." Dib corrected. "It was a curse that I managed to get lifted by agreeing to clean the Shadow Hog's toilet!”

Membrane just laughed.

“Now son, while you were indeed right about the existence of aliens. _Ghosts_ , _curses_ , 'vampire _bees'_ , those are just not possible.”

Dib opened his mouth to argue only to instead give a defeated sigh after a pause.

He could argue about all this some other time,

Right now, he decided to remain quiet as he began watching his dad begin his examination of ZiM. The Irken complying without so much as a complaint or argument. His gaze turning to Dib while Membrane was in the midst of taking a cheek cell sample from him.

Oh god...

He probably thought they were about to dissect him, didn’t he?

And he _still_ wasn’t doing anything.

That just made Dib feel even worse...

————————

True to his word, Membrane didn’t harm ZiM in the slightest over the next few hours.

Outside the forewarned possible horrible tests he had mentioned, of course.

“Well, nothing seems wrong with him physically from what we’ve been able to test him for.” Membrane tapped a tablet pen against his covered face as he looked at the data on the screen.

Just in front of him, ZiM was suspended in a tube containing some sort of liquid. Completely unconscious.

“Based on my understanding of his alien anatomy and the information I was able to gather from his parent AI, anyway.”

“'Parent AI'?” Dib questioned with a small yawn. He was already beginning to feel exhausted from forcing himself to stay awake to keep an eye on both ZiM and his dad through the process.

“The one installed in his house.” The Professor said, expecting Dib to know what he was talking about. “He may be an alien, but parental consent to experimentation on one's child is still a legal requirement in this country. I paid his home a visit not long after I sent you both to your room for the night.”

“... Wait…" Dib blinked his eyes open after rubbing the sleep out of them. "Even after meeting him you _still_ think the house computer is supposed to be ZiM’s _dad_?” The absurdity of it was enough to wake him up to full alertness.

“That’s the purpose for its existence, no? To act as a caretaker towards your little alien friend?” Membrane raised a brow in confusion. “It certainly seemed like an exasperated parent all the times I spoke with it... To which, I can relate.”

“Daaaaaad.” Dib groaned, feeling like he should be taking that as an insult.

“Sorry son, just stating the facts.” Membrane gave a slight wave of his hand as he turned back to the tablet and went over the data again. “And when it comes to facts… I believe what’s wrong with your friend may purely be on the psychological end. Clinical Depression, or whatever the equivalent is for his species, being the most likely candidate.”

“... Seriously…?” Dib furrowed his brow. “He’s really just… _Depressed?_ That’s it?!”

“From the tests I’ve performed today alone?" Yes. That seems to be what we’re dealing with without further examination and opening him up.”

Professor Membrane set aside the tablet and began the process of releasing ZiM from the examination tank.

“Depression…” Dib mumbled before resting his head on his his arms that were folded on the table. “We’re just back where we started!”

“Perhaps. But isn’t it better knowing there isn’t some other serious underlying problem that’s causing his behavioral shift?" Membrane asked without actually expecting an answer. Drying off ZiM and redressing him in the same gown he'd been in before. "Depression is something that can be managed, given time and treatment.”

"... I guess."

Dib had to admit, it _was_ a bit of a relief knowing that.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still annoyed he had allowed his dad to do all these tests only to get to the answer he’d already basically known from the start.

They had learned nothing new at all in the end.

Well.

Actually.

They did learn _one_ thing.

ZiM seemed to actually not mind and even _liked_ the taste of human candy. Considering the way he unwrapped and started suckling on the lollipop his dad had given him for being a "good little alien boy” during his tests almost as soon as it was handed to him.

Maybe he could use that…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then Membrane told Dib he had to give ZiM another bath and dress him in the spare clothes he'd gotten from his base.


End file.
